Mr REID(5.37 p.m.) —I wish to participate in the grievance debate on a very important matter, and I am sure you will recognise it also, Mr Deputy Speaker. It concerns the future development of the Calder Highway which links Melbourne to Bendigo and goes right through to Mildura.

At the outset, I want to pay tribute to the Hon. John Sharp, the previous Minister for Transport and Regional Development, who had the foresight—and we enjoyed his cooperation—to make the Calder Highway a road of national importance. This was a significant move by the former minister which recognises the importance of that major highway which links Bendigo to Melbourne, runs through to the northern part of Victoria and subsequently meets up with the Sturt Highway, which is linked into Adelaide and is a very important link to that city.

The reason I wanted to raise this is that the October 1997 issue of the RACV publication, Royalauto, had a very important article about the Calder Highway. The article was pressing the case for the continued upgrading of the Calder Highway, which is very dear to my heart, Mr Deputy Speaker, and I know very dear to your heart, as the member for Mallee, and I know that it will be particularly well received in our electorates.

The article, which was written by Professor Ken Ogden on behalf of the RACV, was very well researched; however, I believe that there are additional funds that have been made available at a federal level to supplement the funds that are provided by the Victorian state government. I refer to the commitment by this government and by the former minister, John Sharp, to an $80 million upgrade for the Calder Highway, 50 per cent of which is being provided by the federal government and 50 per cent by the Victorian state government. The upgrade provides for a 13-kilometre, four-lane bypass of Woodend, which, as you would understand, Mr Deputy Speaker, is a very important aspect of the road improvement.

There is also a $6 million state and federal contribution for an interchange at a very dangerous intersection at Diggers Rest. That is now well under way. It is progressing at a very rapid rate and will add significantly to the safety of that particular interchange. There is a commitment by the federal and state governments to a $51 million four-lane freeway through the Black Forest, south of Woodend. This is an area that has required attention for some years, and some work has already commenced on that program.

There have been a number of other initiatives by the federal government, including the reintroduction of the black spots safety program. Much of that money from federal sources has been directed at improvements to the Calder Highway, including a recent amount of $330,000 to improve the road extending from Bendigo out to Maiden Gully, with widening of that major road and safety barriers being put in place to improve its safety.

The black spots program was a program that had been in place under previous governments until it was dumped by the Keating government. It was reinstated by the Howard government and has provided a number of very worthwhile initiatives in road safety. Quite an amount of money has been put into the Calder Highway to improve the safety aspects of that highway.

The extensive work that is being carried out on the Calder Highway, particularly in the Mount Aitken and Diggers Rest areas, will bring a divided highway—mostly up to freeway standard—right from the heart of Melbourne and, of course, that includes access to ports and airports. These improvements are very important, particularly when you see the vast amount of primary production which comes down from the north out of the Sunraysia area via the Calder Highway to both ports and airports in Melbourne.

The freeway standard will extend from Melbourne through to beyond Gisborne and, after the works have been completed on the four-lane bypass at Woodend and the four-lane freeway through the Black Forest, the four lanes will extend from Melbourne right through to Malmsbury, which is a significant part of the highway. It will certainly add to the safety of the highway and to the convenience, efficiencies and economies that are required by primary producers, tourists and other users of the Calder Highway.

I commend the RACV for this article. It is bringing more attention to the Calder Highway, and that is to be commended. However, I also want to indicate that it is very important that we keep the Victorian state government in that equation and that they keep providing their contribution to the Calder Highway, because they do have a responsibility for the upkeep and further development of that highway.

There is an issue with one important section that I want to raise before the House today, and that is the section of approximately 40 to 45 kilometres between Malmsbury in the south and Ravenswood in the north. That is a particularly dangerous section of roadway—a very narrow, winding road of two lanes with a very bad history of serious accidents. It is important that the federal and state governments concentrate their attention on bringing this section of the Calder Highway up to four-lane, divided road, freeway standard, so that the link from Melbourne to Bendigo is incorporated as a four-lane highway, with significant improvements to the north of Bendigo so that the quality of the Calder Highway right through to Mildura is kept at a high level. This would add to the efficiency of the highway right through into the very productive Sunraysia district and other rural sectors to the north. It is important that that be continued.

What hit me about the article that appeared in the RACV publication—and I do not think anyone could dispute this—was the following statement:

The Calder Highway is a nationally important road carrying high volumes of private, freight, commercial and tourist traffic.

The Calder provides important links between interstate destinations and towns in central and western Victoria with the markets and export opportunities in Melbourne and Geelong.

And I add my rider: the Calder Highway provides access to the ports and airports which are so extremely valuable to us, particularly with the recent announcement by the Prime Minister (Mr Howard) of the supermarket to Asia program. A lot of the vegetables and fresh fruit that are much in demand in Asia can be transported from the Sunraysia district via the Calder Highway to air freight facilities and to overseas shipping through the port of Melbourne. It is a very important link in primary production and the supermarket to Asia program which the Prime Minister introduced.

There is very clear demand in many parts of south-east Asia for some of the very high quality food that we produce in Australia, much of it coming from north-central Victoria and further north. If we can keep the state government and the federal government working in cooperation, particularly directing their attention to that important section of the highway between Malmsbury in the south and Ravenswood in the north, it will be of tremendous significance and value to the rural community. (Time expired)